House International Relations Committee & Subcommittees

During the 108th Congress, I was appointed to serve on the House International Relations Committee Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee and International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights Subcommittee.

The Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia is one of the International Relations Committee's six subcommittees. It has jurisdiction over the Middle East countries, and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. It reviews U.S. policy towards Iraq, Iran, the Middle East peace process and related assistance, Gulf Policy (Saudi Arabia and Gulf Cooperation Council states) and has oversight of U.S. interests in the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. In the 107th Congress, I traveled to Afghanistan and the Middle East as part of my oversight responsibility. The Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia has jurisdiction over U.S. efforts to reduce tensions and foster peace in many of the world's most dangerous places.

The International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights Subcommittee oversees U.S. efforts to manage and coordinate international programs to combat terrorism, including diplomatic, economic, and military assistance programs, and efforts intended to identify, arrest and bring international terrorists to justice. The Subcommittee also has oversight of matters involving nuclear, chemical, biological and other weapons of mass destruction and other nonproliferation matters. In addition, the Subcommittee oversees matters relating to internationally recognized human rights including sanctions legislation aimed at the promotion of human rights and democracy.

Visiting Iraq

In order to get a first-hand look at post-war Iraq, assess its immediate economic, infrastructure and humanitarian needs as well as visit with our men and women in uniform, I traveled to Iraq at the end of August 2003 as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation visit.

While in Baghdad, our delegation met with the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq to discuss the U.S. financial and military commitments in Iraq. We also met with troops on the ground in Baghdad, visited Iraqi hospitals and toured the Iraq police academy. I am very proud of our service members and equally impressed to see that troop morale is holding steady despite tough assignments. Our soldiers are doing incredible work; these are some truly inspiring young men and women, performing with courage and distinction in tough circumstances where it is hard to tell friend from foe.

I am concerned, however, about the extended deployment of the reserves and National Guard, in some cases as long as 20 months. If we are utilizing our guard and reserves to this degree it is going to be increasingly difficult to attract new people and retain the ones we have.

Our delegation also visited the mass graves near Babylon, where in 1991, Saddam Hussein massacred as many as 15,000 Iraqi Shiites after they rose up against his regime. We also traveled to Mosul and met with members of the 101st Airborne Division who were involved in the search for and killing of Saddam Hussein's two sons, as well as to Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit with the 4th Infantry Division - the soldiers responsible for many of the raids.

The trip gave us a valuable firsthand impression of what the conditions are like in Iraq and what our soldiers are facing on a day-to-day basis. We were also able to see up close what the Iraqi people are living with in terms of basic infrastructure, such as a reliable water and energy supply. Each day in Iraq, I had the opportunity to sit down with California troops to hear their concerns, listen to their experiences and convey to them how much we appreciate their service.

To read more about my visit to Iraq in August of 2003, please click here.

Visiting South Korea and DMZ

In April 2003, I traveled to South Korea as part of a bipartisan delegation that focused on security issues on the Korean Peninsula, the plight of North Korean refugees and the abysmal human rights conditions in the North.

Heading into negotiations over North Korea's nuclear ambitions, our meeting provided us with invaluable feedback from those most threatened - South Korea and our U.S Forces stationed on the peninsula. We met with key South Korean leaders, including President Roh Moo-hyun and the Mayor of Seoul, Lee Myung-bak. My colleagues and I took part in a meeting of the International Parliamentarians Coalition for North Korean Refugees and Human Rights and met with North Korean refugees through the Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights.

One important part of the trip was a visit to Korea's Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to meet and visit with U.S. troops. I met with many servicemen and women and visited at length with Glendale resident, Army Specialist Robert Hernandez, who took me on a tour of the DMZ. Specialist Hernandez and his colleagues impressed me enormously with their dedication to duty, professionalism and keen knowledge of the difficulties in defending the peninsula and policing the demilitarized zone.

To read more about my visit to South Korea in April 2003, please click here.

Combating Global HIV/AIDS

In May 2003, the House passed H.R. 1298, the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003. As a member of the House International Relations Committee and a cosponsor of this important measure, I urged my colleagues to support this critical legislation to authorize $15 billion to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria over the next five years. As the world's only superpower, the United States has a global responsibility to take a prominent leadership role in struggle against the AIDS epidemic. AIDS is not only a global health danger, but a destabilizing force that presents a grave threat to international security.

H.R. 1298 authorized funding for initiatives which will provide anti-retroviral therapy for people living with HIV; encourage a strategy that extends analgesic care for people living with AIDS; support the research and development for vaccines for HIV/AIDS and malaria; and emphasize the need to keep families together, with particular focus on the assistance needs of children and young people with HIV; contribute to multilateral initiatives that leverage the funds of others. To date, more than 25 million people have died of AIDS worldwide, including more than 3 million in 2002. Life expectancy in Africa has been cut in half by the pandemic, and by the year 2010, 80 million persons could be dead of AIDS. This legislation, enacted in late May 2003, is an important step towards ridding the world of these deadly diseases.

To read more about Schiff’s efforts to combat Global HIV/AIDS, please click here.

Millennium Challenge Account

In July 2003, the House approved legislation authorizing a historic shift in U.S. foreign assistance programs by passing the Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2003, which was incorporated into the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for FY04 and 05 (H.R. 1950). H.R. 1950 established the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which expands U.S. economic assistance to high-performing countries in the developing world with a proven track record of accomplishment in the areas of economic freedom, democracy, and investments in health and education sectors. H.R. 1950 also doubled the size of the Peace Corps and included a provision requiring the Department of State to develop an annual report on the effectiveness of all U.S. foreign assistance programs.

Under provisions of the new law, implementation of the program would be done through a new entity to be known as the Millennium Challenge Corporation, with a mandate to negotiate contracts with foreign governments for projects.

Promoting Effective Public Diplomacy
Each year, the United States provides billions of dollars in foreign aid. Unfortunately, despite our efforts to improve the daily lives of people around the world, anti-American sentiment exists and is—quite alarmingly—on the rise. Often, the recipients of our aid do not know that it comes from the United States.

For this reason, I introduced during the 107th Congress H.R. 5733, the Public Diplomacy Enhancement Act (H.R. 5733), to ensure that the positive work and support the United States provides to troubled regions around the world is properly identified. U.S. assistance, funded by the American taxpayer, should be clearly identified, and the extent of American generosity for purposes of poverty reduction and development should be well known.

I was pleased that language from my bill to improve U.S. efforts to promote effective public diplomacy was incorporated into H.R. 1950, the State Department Reauthorization Bill. Foreign aid is a potentially powerful tool in our public diplomacy campaign. Broadcasting this fact abroad can help in building support for U.S. foreign policy and generate good will. Directing the Department of State and the Agency for International Development to take advantage of this untapped resource, and requiring them to report to Congress on their efforts to do so, ensures that U.S. foreign assistance becomes an integral component of public diplomacy.

Weapons of Mass Destruction Intelligence and the War in Iraq

In October of 2002, Congress voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq. Congress made that decision based on intelligence which detailed Saddam Hussein’s chemical, biological and nuclear programs. We now know that some of that intelligence was seriously flawed.

I am an original cosponsor of legislation to establish an Independent Commission to investigate our intelligence gathering process as it pertains to Iraq. Our ability to avoid another September 11th and our standing in the world community will be influenced by how we resolve questions surrounding the accuracy of pre-war and post-war intelligence. To read an op-ed I wrote on this subject, "Schiff Supports Investigation into Iraq War Intelligence," please click here.

Stopping the Spread of Nuclear Weapons

A decade after the end of the Cold War, thousands of nuclear weapons and tons of nuclear material still remain in Russia. Vulnerable collections of dangerous pathogens and toxins in nonmilitary labs around the world can also be used to make biological weapons. We must move swiftly to secure and destroy these dangerous biological, chemical and nuclear materials around the world before they fall prey to terrorist groups hostile to the United States.

As a member of the Bipartisan Task Force on Non-Proliferation, I know that securing Russia's nuclear arsenal is a massive challenge but not an impossible one. While the potential costs of a terrorist attack on the United States involving smuggled Russian nuclear, chemical or biological materials, are staggering, funding for the simple measures that can prevent these attacks is both sensible and urgent.

Securing Vulnerable Stockpiles of Weapons Materials

In May 2003, I introduced legislation (H.R.2063) to expand the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program to include countries outside the former Soviet Union such as Pakistan, India, North Korea, China, Iran and Iraq. The Nunn-Lugar program was designed to ensure that the nuclear arsenal of the Soviet Union would not fall into the wrong hands as the Soviet empire was coming apart. Given the new threats, which have materialized in the war on terrorism, it is now clear that we must expand the Nunn-Lugar program to include nations outside the former Soviet Union. Specifically, this bill authorizes the Secretary of Defense to use up to $50 million in CTR funds for proliferation threat reduction projects outside the former Soviet Union.

Also in May 2003, I introduced an amendment along with Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004 to strengthen the United States' efforts to reduce weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) around the world.

Currently, large stockpiles of deadly chemical weapons and weapons materials are stored with minimal security in Shchuch'ye, Russia. Though security has been upgraded in previous years, the large arsenals of chemical weapons and weapons materials remain vulnerable. Our amendment would restore funding for the construction of a chemical weapons destruction facility at Shchuch'ye. Parsons, an engineering firm in Pasadena, CA, has been involved in the design and early construction of this secure facility in Shchuch'ye.

To read more about this legislation, please click here.

Reducing Stockpiles of Dangerous Nuclear Materials

All-too vulnerable supplies of highly enriched uranium (HEU) – suitable for use in nuclear weapons – and fuel and waste from decommissioned reactors throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union pose grave threats to American security.

HEU poses a grave threat as a terrorist weapon and there is an urgent need to deal with the small, unsecured stocks of HEU used as fuel in research reactors. Operators of these reactors often do not have the financial resources to adequately protect this dangerous fuel, and there is grave danger that it could fall into the wrong hands. Yet, currently, there is no single, coordinated U.S. government initiative working to secure and clean out these international facilities of their HEU stocks.

In May 2003, my provision to reduce vulnerable stockpiles of dangerous radioactive materials from old nuclear reactors throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union was incorporated into the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for FY04 and 05 (H.R. 1950).

The Nuclear Disarmament Fund (NDF) is a unique and flexible entity within the State Department that is well suited to take on the challenge of a global HEU clean out. NDF's objective is to permit rapid response to unanticipated or unusually difficult, high priority requirements or opportunities to halt the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons; destroy or neutralize existing weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related sensitive materials; and to limit the spread of advanced conventional weapons and their delivery systems. NDF is an entirely appropriate mechanism for dealing with the issues of HEU clean out and stockpile reduction.

My measure directs and authorizes an additional $25 million for the NDF to secure, reduce and clean out stockpiles of HEU at over 100 research reactors in over 40 countries worldwide.

During the House consideration of the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill for FY 2004 (H.R. 2800), I led efforts to increase the level of funding for the NDF by $15 million, restoring it to the level requested by the President -- $35 million.

Restoring the level of NDF funding to at least the President's request would strengthen the State Department's ability to mitigate a critical weakness in our national security by proactively working to reduce the threats posed by stockpiles of nuclear material in the former Soviet Union.

(For more information on Schiff’s efforts to increase NDF funding, please click here.)

In addition, my amendment to expedite U.S. visa applications - consistent with national security objectives - for Russian scientists involved in arms control and nonproliferation efforts with U.S. scientists was included in the House-passed H.R. 1950. Delays and difficulties in implementing nonproliferation and threat reduction programs are emerging because of tightened U.S. visa regulations. While new restrictions on the issuing of visas have come about in the aftermath of September 11, they should not be at the cost of the larger national security of the United States.

Visa regulations that halt or significantly slow U.S.-Russian efforts to place nuclear weapons-usable materials under stronger protection are detrimental to the long-term security of our country. Russian weapons scientists involved in nuclear nonproliferation cooperative efforts with the U.S. are critical to American efforts to ensure that nuclear weapons-grade materials remain under control and out of the hands of terrorists. Expediting visa applications for international counter-terrorism efforts is crucial to U.S. national security and essential to maintaining the United States' global leadership in science and technology.

For more information on this subject, please click here.

Urge Renewal of Key Non-proliferation Agreements

Working with my colleagues John Spratt and Ike Skelton, I sent a letter to President Bush requesting the renewal of two key U.S.-Russian nonproliferation agreements that provide the legal basis for important cooperative threat reduction efforts with Russia.

Both agreements, which expired in 2003, were dedicated to reducing the size of the Russian nuclear weapons complex and transitioning its excess scientists and workers into peaceful, alternative careers, as well as governing key aspects of Russia’s plutonium disposition program.

To read more about this letter to President Bush, please click here.